Monday, January 03, 2011

Coe Backs West Ham Bid

Sebastian Coe appears to have backed West Ham's case for taking over the Olympics Stadium, hinting that Sp#rs' bid doesn't meet the requirement of having an athletics legacy after the Olympics.

Coe said,

"We are told that West Ham are happy to play football within a track and Tottenham have clearly said not. Conclude from that what you want.

"We have had assurances that the tenders will be underpinned by the recognition that commitments were made to the IOC and to the international federations about a track and field legacy, and we have no reason to believe the OPLC will do anything to contradict that."

The Sun and The Mirror both claim that West Ham have tabled a £4 million bid for Liam Lawrence, who has just joined Portsmouth. The midfielder, 29, only completed a permanent move from Stoke yesterday.

The Sun and Mirror both make this ludicrous claim even while both acknowledge that you cannot buy and sell the same player in a single transfer window.

(@Holiday Rentals Nerja - Live Nation (promoters of Madonna and Jay Z), Newham Council and UK Athletics have backed it.)

I'm against it but resigned to it going ahead. The Spurs bid seems to be a bargaining chip so their local council gives them planning permission for a new White Hart Lane, which as far as I know they now have. For a while they even said they'd demolish the whole stadium and build a new one, which must be a wind up. We are the only other bidders, so we'll get it by default if nothing else.

I can only hope that speculation about putting seating on the track during the football season comes true.